German actress and singer
Former principal actress of the Berlin Theatre, expelled by the Nazis.
Sang "Lili Marleen" a anti-Hitler version for BBC in 1943 in G.B.
German character actress and cabaret artiste, trained in Berlin. Early in her career, she often acted alongside Conrad Veidt. Celebrated on stage and in musical revues during the 1920s. In films from 1923. Immensely popular, she was considered a quintessential Berliner. She was the main rival to Marlene Dietrich for the coveted role in Der blaue Engel (1930) . However, due to her being Jewish, she was forced to flee from Germany after the Nazi take-over in 1933. She went to England via Czechoslovakia, where she appeared in Hitchcocks The 39 Steps (1935) and subsequently acted mainly on stage in Britain until her post-war return to Germany. Made several more film appearances in the 50s and 60s and was named Staatsschauspieler (State Actor) in 1963.
The composer Walter Goetze wrote his operetta Die gttliche Jette especially for Mannheim.
